Thoughts on Death

Interesting question. I have nothing more than hypotheses. I think that maybe it just depends on what you believe. I think that by thinking something we make it so, so maybe whatever you think, even if it isn't the same thing as what I think, will happen to you. Like if Sam believes she is going to go to heaven, then she will, but Joe believes that he will reincarnate, that is what will happen to him. Which then validates every belief system. Or maybe when you die, you get to chose from them?

I've also thought that perhaps time is cyclical, big bang, big crunch, big bang, big crunch, etc. forever. So maybe death becomes birth. Maybe each individual is stuck in a revolving door of time. That would explain deja vu.

But I also think that we are all pieces of a whole and we reincarnate many times until we finally rejoin the collective.

Yeah, I don't know, but it is fun to think about for me. I don't fear death at all. I agree that I couldn't imagine any one knowing for sure, I mean how do you prove it? It may not be worth our time to think about it, but then is it really worth our time to think about anything we don't know for sure? I think so. I enjoy thinking about things. I read online this thing called Michael's Teachings, and the point that resonated with me is that everything has value, but nothing is important. So it's not important to think about the unknowable, but it is valuable to do so for one reason or another.

We're not just dying, we're also living and doing a whole lot of other stuff. I don't know. I really love this question though.

 

I really don't know. I find life to be to complex for us humans to understand such concepts as death and eternity, we are just not capable of doing so, wether there is something after death or not not, I think one should make the best out of life we have here, do good deeds and be respectful of other people, and act kindly. Whether there is something or not, we will let destiny decide, personally I' not very religious though I believe that some deity is possible, specially since there is many things us humans can't explain. Science can come up with many ways to make us go further at the same time it comes at a cost at some things being contradicting to religious views( cloning, life extension etc), so really is like being stuck between 2 walls.

 

Growing up, I used to be really afraid of the whole idea of death; I never wanted to think about it at all. I had a lot of questions, still do, but I know a lot more than I used to. You're going to go whether you like or think about it or not. I could go next year, next week, tomorrow or even today. I guess that's the mystery of it, but I'm no longer afraid. Death is just the beginning.

 

I don't pretend to know anything about death, but really, it kind of intrigues me in a morbid sort of way. I'm fairly comfortable with the notion.

Normally, though, it's not something I think about so much. I've accepted it -- we die, and we will all die, and we don't know what death may bring. I tend to focus more on time or something when I'm contemplating the great mysteries of life.

 

Since I am Buddhist I do believe in the idea of reincarnation. I actually wonder if our astrological sign and Myers Brigg profile have something to do with our Karma and what we have done in our past lives. For me, people have so many connections, preferences, talents that it is difficult for me to believe that people have not lived before in some way.

 

I think nothing will happen.
All the religions have been created because people were afraid of death and to explain things they couldn't explain with their current science.
I'm not afraid of death. It's just the last stage.
When we die, our body will slowly rot away, and that's it.

 

I was JUST talking about this last night.

I have thought about it on both scientific and spiritual levels.

I am scared to think that our souls are gone after death. This makes me want to believe in heaven or reincarnation or a higher plane of existance.

I have thought about it in terms of quantum theory, in that our soul is a sort of dimensional energy that we are not yet aware of and exists in other dimensions other than the few we are aware of, and that the energy of our soul cannot be destroyed. Yet, anything quantum quickly confuses me!


I desparately want to believe that we aren't completely gone after death, but it doesn't influence how I live my life.

 

I don't understand something, what does the concept soul really mean?

I thought this was a mix of your emotions, values, ideas, ...

 

Some believe it is an energy. This moves into more of a spiritual sense. Where, even if you had a labotomy, your soul is untouched.

 

So, it's an energy which has nothing to do with your functioning brain/body?

 

That is the theory that many people hold.

 

Hmm I'm not sure about that. I don't think that someones soul is untouched who had a lobotomy where everything changed about their identity. It seems contradictory to me because I think of the soul as what makes me 'me'.

 

I've done a ton of research on death, dying, reincarnation, heaven, hell, NDE's and many other things. I LOVE this topic! Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss was the first book to get me to start believing in reincarnation. I do believe in reincarnation, but I also hope that when I die, I'm done with coming back. My plan is to go to the great library in the sky and read and read and read. Sounds like heaven to me!

Of course we can only speculate, but, it's important to study. I've studied a lot of religions to come up with my views. I've read the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Book of the Dead, elements of the Torah and others. One of the things I've learned, is that the Great Flood, probably really happened. It's in almost every religious book. So, I believe the Great Flood happened.

I could go on for hours, but won't.

As for whether it's worth speculating about... can you stop? Can any of us? The fear of death is one of the strongest impulses that we as humans have. So many people get plastic surgery, exercise like maniacs, do anything possible to keep from that final outcome.

Death is coming, to us all. This is not morbid, it's a fact.

I think it's important to think about it, so we don't live in fear of it.

OMG - I love this post! Wow! Way to go!

 

That infers that your brain affects your soul, rather than your soul affecting your brain.

 

Moxie, how can you study that which we know nothing about?
Religious books are all about hoping and believing.

 

I believe in reincarnation, I am very spiritual. I am sure our souls return to earth. I dont speculate on the hows or whys, but I am pretty sure some souls choose to stay here on earth until their loved ones are at peace. I think our souls are very much as we were on earth.

 

I just bought the book from your 1st paragraph, thank you for the post. I am also starting to study religion greatly (Abrahamic heavily first, then more Eastern)

You should seriously continue....

 

In the case of a lobotomy, your soul is still that link between you and a higher power. Having a soul doesn't mean bad things won't and don't happen to you. Whether you believe in one or not. If you believe you have a soul, chances are good that you believe in a higher power. I think the soul is a communications link, between yourself and a higher power, or even yourself and others. I've also done a lot of reading on "Universal Consciousness." The belief that we are all connected on some level. Like when a loved one dies, and you just know it....

 

Do you have any recommendations on good books to read?